Hi folks :) I have, what i consider to be, a major problem. Up until this past March, i had two pets, Jack, my Jack Russell, and Patch, my cat. I brought Patch home when he was 5 weeks old, to my dog Jack when he was 3 yrs old. They had been great buddies, in and out of the house, up until March, when i brought home Jill, a part Jack Russell, and part ?, who was 5 months old. Patch the cat, was initially afraid of Jill, and except for sneaking in to eat, she stayed outside. Now, Patch and Jill get along fine, but Jack keeps barking at, and chasing Patch, to the point Patch won't come near Jack, and still sneaks in to eat, instead of her usual ease of roaming around inside. It is going to get very cold/snowy here in the Northeast soon, and i want to solve this problem with Patch/Jack, because she's as much a part of MY family, as my 2 dogs. I don't know what changed in Jacks head, but i need to get things back to what they used to be soon. Any suggestions/help? Thanks. Bob :)

Love4himies

September 20th, 2012, 06:54 PM

Hopefully somebody will be able to answer your question.

Barkingdog

September 20th, 2012, 08:59 PM

Hi folks :) I have, what i consider to be, a major problem. Up until this past March, i had two pets, Jack, my Jack Russell, and Patch, my cat. I brought Patch home when he was 5 weeks old, to my dog Jack when he was 3 yrs old. They had been great buddies, in and out of the house, up until March, when i brought home Jill, a part Jack Russell, and part ?, who was 5 months old. Patch the cat, was initially afraid of Jill, and except for sneaking in to eat, she stayed outside. Now, Patch and Jill get along fine, but Jack keeps barking at, and chasing Patch, to the point Patch won't come near Jack, and still sneaks in to eat, instead of her usual ease of roaming around inside. It is going to get very cold/snowy here in the Northeast soon, and i want to solve this problem with Patch/Jack, because she's as much a part of MY family, as my 2 dogs. I don't know what changed in Jacks head, but i need to get things back to what they used to be soon. Any suggestions/help? Thanks. Bob :)

It sound like Jack is jealous of Jill . If Jill is not in the room will Jack still bark at Path? I think you may had introduce Jill too fast to your famliy , can you let Jack and Path have some 'alone time' and see if they can make up? And slowly have Jill join in .

14+kitties

September 20th, 2012, 11:42 PM

How was the new dog introduced to the cat? Was she brought into the house and introduced slowly to the cat or was she put down and the cat had to deal with it? Jack was/is likely "protecting" Jill from that mean, nasty cat. ;) (added so as not to be misunderstood as to my meaning)
Now, you have your work cut out for you...........
You need to ensure that every room where the dogs have access to there is a place where Patch can get up high; be it the top of the fridge, a tall cat condo, on top of your curtain rod; anywhere where Patch can go and the dogs can't. You need to learn to control the dogs when around the cat by correcting the dog(s) every time they lunge or bark at the cat. It would not hurt to start from the beginning and do things properly so Patch can feel at home in her own home. Poor baby must be so confused.

Here are a few sites for you to read. Maybe you'll find something helpful and useful in them.
http://www.samsmiles.org/catsdogs.html

How was the new dog introduced to the cat? Was she brought into the house and introduced slowly to the cat or was she put down and the cat had to deal with it? Jack was/is likely "protecting" Jill from that mean, nasty cat.
Now, you have your work cut out for you...........
You need to ensure that every room where the dogs have access to there is a place where Patch can get up high; be it the top of the fridge, a tall cat condo, on top of your curtain rod; anywhere where Patch can go and the dogs can't. You need to learn to control the dogs when around the cat by correcting the dog(s) every time they lunge or bark at the cat. It would not hurt to start from the beginning and do things properly so Patch can feel at home in her own home. Poor baby must be so confused.

Here are a few sites for you to read. Maybe you'll find something helpful and useful in them.
http://www.samsmiles.org/catsdogs.html

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-dogs
Jack and Path where getting along fine until Jill came into the picture. Path is not being a mean, nasty cat. I feel Jill need to be reintroduced to the famliy once Jack and Path become friend again. The OP vet may have some ideas the OP can try.

14+kitties

September 21st, 2012, 10:47 AM

Jack and Path where getting along fine until Jill came into the picture. Path is not being a mean, nasty cat. I feel Jill need to be reintroduced to the famliy once Jack and Path become friend again. The OP vet may have some ideas the OP can try.

OMGosh, quite obviously the sarcasm was not intended when I said mean, nasty cat. Good lord, look at my name. There are no mean, nasty cats. Just misunderstood cats.
I am aware of what/how cats and dogs need to be introduced. That is why I gave the websites so the OP can read them and reintroduce ALL of the pets the proper way. That is the only way it is going to be fixed. The OP came to Pets to be helped. That's what I was trying to do. :shrug: Maybe I should have added a ;) behind it. In fact, I'll do that so no one else misunderstands my meaning.

Barkingdog

September 21st, 2012, 04:43 PM

OMGosh, quite obviously the sarcasm was not intended when I said mean, nasty cat. Good lord, look at my name. There are no mean, nasty cats. Just misunderstood cats.
I am aware of what/how cats and dogs need to be introduced. That is why I gave the websites so the OP can read them and reintroduce ALL of the pets the proper way. That is the only way it is going to be fixed. The OP came to Pets to be helped. That's what I was trying to do. :shrug: Maybe I should have added a ;) behind it. In fact, I'll do that so no one else misunderstands my meaning.

OK , it is hard to tell sometime when a person is using sarcasm on line at times. I think all animals get misunderstood at times. I hope the OP pets will be able to work out things. I knew someone that had to give a cat away as it their first cat did not like having another cat in the house.